Business Schools Will Sell You Degrees, Creators Will Teach You Business
...the future belongs to the creators.
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Dear Creative, Artist, Entrepreneur,
Let me first state that I do believe some schooling is required for very specific fields…
I’m not removing the validity of education, nor am I saying that the entire educational system should cease to exist… I simply believe it needs to drastically restructure, but I previously spoke about that on another letter.
Today, however, I am going to at least challenge traditional business schools with a few fundamental shifts that are happening.
Let me also preface that I received my International Business Degree (MBA) from one of the world’s leading international business schools and I was not taken serious about the following:
digital marketing
social media marketing
automation
content creation
online audience attention
digital writing (and copywriting)
giving away value for free
digital economies of scale (costs decrease as size of following increases)
digital distribution
having a personal brand online (even if you’re a head of the company)
And I understand why I wasn’t taken as serious.
Business has been previously done in a way that’s different from what we are experiencing now… I just happened to see where it was heading.
There’s three points I want to make about what I believe they were missing in their delivery of “education” even though I understand it was designed as a byproduct of the “industrial age” (gate-keepers included).
The use of the Internet, social media and automation has revolutionized people to become businesses themselves.
The “Age of Information” would drastically change not only their curriculum, but how people fundamentally learn, gain & give value and do business.
What worked for decades now can change in minutes.
It used to be that “those who teach, can’t do; those that do, can’t teach.”
That’s why more often than not, you see quite a few folks in the education system teaching business but have not time to run one.
But here’s where the shift happened…
Many of today’s entrepreneurs skill acquisition came from learning online, applying it themselves and then teaching others how to do the same.
They did so because school was not adapting as fast as the times and needs were.
Welcome to the “sharing economy.”
Content (long form, short form), newsletters, blogs, Vlogs, podcasts, LIVE streaming… you name it… MEDIA… is how we are connecting, sharing, growing, learning and creating (doing) business.
And as Dan Koe recently put it in his video, The 7 Best Internet Business Models,
Creators are decentralized media companies.
Media runs the world. Media shapes culture. Media keeps people in chains. Media exposes people to their potential.
That computer you’re looking at… everything on the screen… is media
The billboards you drive by? Shops on the side of the road? Car brands next to you? Song on the radio? Media.
We are in a spiritual war of ideas and the word “content” is arguably more encompassing and makes more sense than media…
Everything you hold within consciousness is content. The content of your attention.
Mindful content helps people grow, evolve and expand their sense of self.
Mindless content encourages decay, stagnantion and defending their low development ego.
That’s the game we are playing. You are a content creator whether you water it down to a new-age internet job or not.
You write texts. You speak to your peers. You persuade your way into a career. You are doing everything that “content creators” do, but with a fraction of the leverage.
So, I want to expand on the following:
Since we learn by doing, the Internet is a two-way fast-track to personal development and entrepreneurship, which are synonymous with each other…
New leverage is the sum total of skill acquisition, content creation and distribution.
People aren’t looking for perfection, they’re looking for authentic… instead of a centralized one-size fits all curriculum, people are looking for people they trust immersed in the work.
Let’s expand here👇🏼
Since We Learn By Doing, the Internet is a Two-Way Fast-Track to Personal Development & Entrepreneurship
…we help ourselves and others at the same time… actual experiential education.
Here are some of the top areas of content (aside from the mindless) that creators are sharing:
Health & wellness
Nutrition & cooking
Business, marketing, accounting & finance
Advice, self-help
Interesting enough, many of these are what’s taught in school.
The only difference, other than the massive cost to enter college… is that the “content creators” are usually so embodied in their work, that they are teaching what they are doing for themselves, first.
And content creators are not just reserved for a newer generation of learners, artists, creatives and entrepreneurs.
We see incredible content creators such as Andrew Huberman, a renowned expert in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Medicine (STEM education), educate in health, neuroscience and human optimization.
There’s two points I want to make here for you, the individual reading this:
Education barriers from cost, credentials and background have significantly decreased now that the Internet can teach you literally anything.
When we learn (and do the work), we put ourselves in a position to create. When we create, we put ourselves in a position to earn.
The rate at which we’re learning, experimenting and earning has completely redefined the business landscape, even if our acquaintances over in the scholastic world haven’t accepted it yet.
Creators are learning from creators…
in turn, more creators are creating a life by design, not by default.
👇🏼
New Leverage is the Sum Total of Skill Acquisition, Content Creation & Distribution
Many of today’s more “digitally savvy” entrepreneurs took to the Internet to gain their skill acquisition because the pace at which society was changing… school was not teaching.
Let me explain…
You need to learn more than what traditional business schools teach for a world that is moving at 10x the speed… not to mention 10x the freedom.
Today’s creators learn a variety of skills from writing (the most important), video creation (starting with an iPhone), email marketing, social media, psychology, producing and selling…
to creating cash flow, scaling operations at 90% margins, systems & automation.
On the surface they might look similar to a business school’s education… that’s what using fancy words will do… but I assure you, they’re not teaching it the way the rest of the world is moving.
Skill acquisition in today’s digital economy creates more leverage than most Chief Marketing Officers in major corporations.
They actually don’t know much about what we’re doing online, nor how we’re earning with fractions of the cost of doing business.
Second, as noted by Dan Koe above, “content” is always being created…
but how we are leveraging our knowledge and expertise can make us a fortune.
The world benefits from your gifts… You get to be you and the world gets to receive what you like to share and educate on.
In today’s digital world, we can learn faster than ever and then share faster than ever.
And third, having a following online is distribution… I don’t care if it’s 500 followers, 5,000 followers or 500,000 followers…
imagine being in a room with as little as 500 people… that’ A LOT.
The goal is simple… acquire skills to create your path, create content to share your path, build a following to help more people.
That is your leverage and there’s never been a better time with minimal barriers to entry.
👇🏼
People Aren’t Looking for Perfection, They’re Looking for Authentic…
instead of a centralized one-size fits all curriculum presented by business schools, people are looking for people online who are immersed in the work and sharing what they learn along the way.
If you’re not familiar, it’s been called, “the build in public” movement and it’s moving fast.
Creators create, they share how they’re doing it, they offer their knowledge from Free to Paid and they embody the work because the work is the only way to prove it works.
Business schools have become very good at branding…
but I’d rather learn from creators doing the work, at fractions of the cost (although great creators deserve their high ticket prices which are still lower than school) and are willing to be a part of the process instead of stalling the path.
The business world, traditional corporations and old paradigm models have a fear of not looking perfect… so much so that they’re willing to cover up their mistakes.
The irony?
If they were honest, their sales would skyrocket.
Hence, the movement towards consuming education, products and services from creators is booming and it’s not slowing down.
And one last reminder…
When I say creator, this goes for any person in any field of study in any industry.
A “creator” isn’t just a creative in the arts… they are someone who makes art out of their work no matter what their focus. 😉
👇🏼
Simplify, Multiply, Diversify below…👇🏼
SIMPLIFY…
Find the creators, learn from the creators, pay it forward as a creator.
MULTIPLY…
The fastest way to out leverage the market is to acquire as many skills as the market is missing. You’ll be able to use them on your own path, as well as be hired by theirs.
DIVERSIFY…
Skill acquisition, content creation and online distribution make more than one revenue stream possible… and you get to choose how that looks for you.
🧠 Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:
1. → Reverse Engineer Your Life - (Join 1,500+ Creators) Workshop (including downloadable templates & frameworks) to bring more clarity, streamline your vision, audit your time and create more predictable outcomes/results. (no cost)
2. → Write, Design, Build - (Just Launched) Content Creator Studio & Operating System to scale your creativity & reach without the burnout… Creatives, Artists & Entrepreneurs, this is not only how I organize my creativity, ideas & writing, but how I launch over 120+ pieces of “shareable” content per week in under 2 hours & grow my audience (50% off For Launch)
3 → Build 1 Thing Community - Live Creativity, Business & Mindset coaching 4x/mo + tons of free resources to increase productivity within your life and business (online). ($47/mo - 30-Day Free Trial)
*Bringing your message (passion, professional work, voice, ideas and more) to the world for your business or personal brand can be difficult, unclear or confusing. It doesn’t have to be.
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I am equally shocked by how behind I feel, and how much opportunity still exists
Thanks for the perspective, packaged in a consumable way
So true so much available at our fingers tips from people with proven results! Connect with creators and get accelerated learning because they have already done most of the hard work. Very good post! Thx